1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image formation apparatus for printing an image and (or) a character on a medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
A printer for printing an image and (or) a character on a print medium (hereinafter, paper is considered as a target) includes means which can store plural sheets of print paper and has a paper feed cartridge for feeding paper at the time of printing. The paper feed cartridge may be independently provided according to a direction and a size of the print paper, respectively, however, a paper feed cartridge commonly used is one which can cope with the print paper of plural sizes or directions (for example, A4, landscape A4, B5, landscape B5).
In order to prevent the print paper from scattering or shifting, a slide print paper stopper is provided inside the paper feed cartridge, and the print paper stopper can be slid to fix the print paper according to a size of the print paper stored.
Also, in the case of printing, information about a direction and a size of the print paper stored in the paper feed cartridge should be previously sent to a printer body (a control part) and a device such as a digital camera or a PC which is connected to the printer and sends print data to the printer, and in that respect, many methods are proposed.
A perspective view of a conventional paper feed cartridge is shown in FIG. 2 and also, a plan view, a front view and a side view of a paper size detection device in the case of using the paper feed cartridge shown in FIG. 2 are shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C.
The paper feed cartridge 1 shown in FIG. 2 has a rectangular box shape and storage space 11 for storing print paper P. The front side end P1 of the print paper P abuts on a print paper front end stopper 12 of the paper feed cartridge 1. Also, the paper feed cartridge 1 has a slide print paper back end stopper 13 for sliding the inside of the storage space 11, and the back side end P2 of the print paper P is fixed by the print paper back end stopper 13. That is, in the print paper P, the front side end P1 is fixed by the print paper front end stopper 12 and the back side end P2 is fixed by the print paper back end stopper 13.
On the paper feed cartridge 1, a guide in the case of slide mounting in a printer is formed in the edge of the box. Also, a protrusion part 14 is placed outside the edge and has four protrusions 141, 142, 143, 144 capable of ejection and retraction. In the protrusion part 14, protrusion states of the protrusions change according to a position of the slide print paper back end stopper 13.
In the printer, a print paper size detection device 7 shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C is placed in a position to which the protrusions 141, 142, 143, 144 reach when this paper feed cartridge 1 is mounted in the printer. The print paper size detection device 7 has a substrate 71, and a print paper size detector 72 for pressing tact switches 711, 712, 713, 714 attached to the back (the side of the paper feed cartridge) of the substrate 71. The print paper size detector 72 is also attached to the back of the substrate 71 and a portion abutting on the protrusions 141, 142, 143, 144 is divided into the same number 721, 722, 723, 724 as the number of protrusions.
When the paper feed cartridge 1 is mounted in the printer, the protruding protrusions (protrusions 141, 144 in this case) press the print paper size detector 72 (721, 724). The print paper size detector 72 (721, 724) pressed by the protrusions 141, 144 transmits its pressure to the tact switches 711, 714 and holds the tact switches 711, 714 in ON states. By combination of the tact switches 711, 714 pressed and the tact switches 712, 713 which are not pressed, a position of the print paper back end stopper 13, that is, a size of the print paper P can be detected. (Refer to JP-A-5-11555, JP-A-8-324801 and JP-A-11-130295)